Miles to Go
by Dreamerfrvrp3
Summary: Set after Founders Day. Elena wakes up from a coma thinking that a confrontation with Katherine put her in the hospital only to find that the date is August 19, 2009 and she's been in a coma ever since the car accident that killed her parents.
1. Chapter One

**Story: Miles to Go  
**

**Author: Dreamerfrvrp3**

**Summary: Set after Founders Day. Elena wakes up from a coma thinking that a confrontation with Katherine put her in the hospital only to find that the date is August 19, 2009 and she's been in a coma ever since the car accident that killed her parents.**

**Author's Note: My first Vampire Diaries story so be gentle. I don't have a beta yet so anyone who is willing send me a PM. This first part is kinda short but its basically just setting up the story, the real action will start soon, I promise! I love Damon/Elena but I have yet to decide how everything will play out. **

**Rating: Mature  
**

**Disclaimer: L.J. Smith created these characters and the CW created the series.  
**

_Cold is the water  
It freezes your already cold mind  
Already cold, cold mind  
And death is at your doorstep  
And it will steal your innocence  
But it will not steal your substance_

_Beep…Beep…Beep._ Elena attempted to lift her hand to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock until she realized that the scratchy bed sheets were not hers. And the beeping was coming from the machine next to her bed. She furrowed her brows, searching her memory for a reason why she was in a hospital bed. Then she remembered.

"_Jeremy? You up?" Elena yelled from the bottom of the stairs. She jumped slightly when she heard noises coming from the kitchen. She stepped cautiously towards the kitchen, her heart beating frantically in her chest. "Jenna? Jeremy?"_

"_Guess again," Katherine grinned from the opposite end of the kitchen. She grabbed a towel and wiped the blood off her mouth. She kicked John's body out of the way and stood in front of Elena. "The resemblance is uncanny."_

_Elena covered her mouth, trying hard to swallow the bile in her throat. "Is he-?"_

"_Dead and drained…Surprisingly delicious," she ran her tongue over her protruding fangs. "Oh how tactful of me. Sorry about Daddy Dearest but honestly nobody betrays me and gets away with it. But tsk tsk trying to use the device on Damon and Stefan…"_

_Elena flinched as Katherine ran a manicured finger down her face, "What do you want with me?"_

_Katherine smirked, "Don't worry I won't kill you…yet. I need you."_

"_Need me for what?" Elena whispered, backing away from Katherine's grasp. _

_Katherine pushed Elena up against the wall behind her and murmured in her ear, "All in good time, sweetheart. Now this might hurt a bit."_

_Elena shut her eyes and tried to scream but it was useless, the room started spinning and turned black before she could even open her mouth._

_But you are not alone in this  
And you are not alone in this  
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand  
Hold your hand  
_

"Katherine," Elena rasped. She made a small choking noise when she tried to speak again and that got her visitor to jump out of the chair.

The red-headed woman grabbed her hand, "Oh my god. Elena your awake! How are you feeling?"

Tears stung Elena's eyes while she tried to speak again. The woman almost slapped her forehead and ran around the bed, pouring a glass of water from the pitcher next to her bed. She pressed the red button near the bed. Elena swallowed the water and spoke, "Aunt Jenna what happened?"

"Oh Elena," she grabbed Elena's hand and sat back down. "I don't know how to tell you this but there was an accident."

Before she could continue the door to the hospital room opened and a tall man wearing scrubs entered the room. He stood next to her bed and smiled, "Miss Gilbert, I'm Doctor Warren, it's nice to see you awake. You had us worried but your family was quite determined that you were going to come out of your coma."

"Coma?" she asked the doctor. He checked her pupils with his pen light and wrote down her vitals on her chart.

He nodded, "I'll explain in just a minute but first can you tell me what the date is?"

"It's May 14, 2010," she replied defiantly. Jenna and Doctor Warren exchanged worried looks. "At least that's the last day I remember before…the accident."

Jenna bit her lip and squeezed her hand, "Elena, today is August 19, 2009."

Elena's eyes widened, "No. No, that can't be right. How can that be? I blacked out on May 14, 2010 I swear."

"Miss Gilbert, you may be suffering from a certain type of amnesia. Sometimes when the body goes into a deep coma-," the doctor tried to explain.

"How long have I been in a coma?" Elena demanded. Her brain tried to process all the information given to her. Could Katherine be behind this? Had she compelled her somehow? Or maybe she had a witch cast a spell. She clasped her chest and pulled out the necklace. It was the same necklace Stefan gave her that contained vervain. "My necklace…"

"You were mumbling about how the necklace would protect you before you fell into the coma. We thought you were just out of it or something but Jer found it laying on your dresser and brought it in," Jenna told her. Before Elena could ask her next question, Jenna beat her to it. "He's fine, he wasn't in the accident. He usually comes in and sits with you every afternoon, I texted him he should be here any minute."

"How long was I out?" she asked again.

The doctor responded, "Since May 23, do you remember the accident at all?"

Elena's heart raced, her parents died that day. She stared at them, "I've been in a coma since the car accident? Mom and Dad are dead aren't they?"

Jenna hugged her, "They died on impact. Somehow you made it to the shore and someone called for help. I'm so sorry."

Stefan. He pulled her out of the river. Stefan and Damon would know what was going on. This could all just be some twisted, messed up dream that she would laugh about with Bonnie after she woke up. It has to be a dream. She couldn't do this over again. The doctor was talking to her again. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

"You seem to be handling all this information pretty well, are you sure you're okay? Your safe here Miss Gilbert, we just want to help you," he said in a soothing voice. She nodded again, she wanted to yell and tell him that this wasn't right. Explain to them that it couldn't be true. Vampire, witches, and vampire mothers really existed. That none of this information was new to her. "The nurse is going to come in and check you over. I'm going to have her take you to get an MRI; we want to make sure everything in your brain is working properly. Comas are very tricky; it's possible that your mind was making up for all the time that had passed."

_And you are the mother  
The mother of your baby child  
The one to whom you gave life  
And you have your choices  
And these are what make man great  
His ladder to the stars_

Right after the doctor left the door burst open again and Jeremy rushed to his sister's bedside. "Elena! I'm so glad you're awake."

"Me too, Jer," she swallowed the lump in throat and hugged Jeremy back. Maybe this wasn't too bad after all before Jeremy wouldn't even say three words to her that didn't cause her heart to hurt. "I'm sorry."

_But you are not alone in this  
And you are not alone in this  
As brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand  
Hold your hand  
_

He frowned, "For what?"

The guilt came rushing back to her like the flood of water that almost killed her. She looked down at her hands, "Mom and Dad. Had I never called them up that night, they would still be here."

"Don't you do dare blame yourself," Jenna uttered sternly next to her. Elena's eyes filled up with tears. She began to cry for all the times she lied to them in the past and for the times when she hid things from them to protect them. She cried because no matter what she wanted the life she had vampires and all.

Jeremy looked uncomfortable with the sudden flow of tears, "Aunt Jenna's right, it wasn't your fault…Everything will be okay just please stop crying."

Elena laughed and accepted the tissue from Jenna even though silent tears were still falling, "I'm so lost."

Neither Jeremy nor Jenna could ask what she meant when Matt walked through the door. His face flushed, he awkwardly held onto the flowers in his hand. He took the empty seat next to Elena and kissed her on the lips.

_And I will tell the night  
Whisper, "Lose your sight"  
But I can't move the mountains for you_

She needed to find her way home.

* * *

Let me know what you think.

_Timshel by Mumford & Sons_


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! The next part probably won't be up for a week but summer is almost here! Lots of time to write.

Thistle & Weeds- Mumford and Sons

**Chapter Two**

_Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams  
Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams  
I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind  
Alone in the wind and the rain you left me  
It's getting dark darling, too dark to see  
And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems_

Elena flinched when Matt grabbed onto her hand. How was she suppose to break Matt's heart again. But he would eventually start dating Caroline and they seemed to be happy together. Then again she didn't know that for sure, don't people believe that one small shift or change could mess up everything. She gave Jenna a look and hoped she understood what she was trying to convey. Jenna nodded and pulled a confused Jeremy out of the room, claiming that she needed coffee.

Matt smiled at her, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was in a come for three months," she shrugged and pulled her hand away to make it seem like she adjusting the covers.

"Not very funny," he replied sternly. "We were all really worried about you."

She took a sip of water and smiled brightly, "Too soon to joke about it I guess? Seriously you don't need to worry about me…at least not anymore."

"Elena, you just came out of a coma of course I'm going to worry about you," he argued softly. "Now will you tell me what's on your mind? I've known you for a long time I can tell when thoughts are spinning around in your head. I want to help."

Alright Matt where do I start, at the part where I'm basically from the future or the last thing I remember is being attacked by my boyfriend's crazy ex-girlfriend who is a vampire and to top it all off she looks exactly like me. Or I could go even further back and tell you about my boyfriend's quasi-evil brother who is kind of a good friend now turned my mother. Oh surprise! I'm adopted and my father tried to kill said boyfriend and good friend, did I mention anything about my Uncle John being my real father? And then there was that time where good friend turned your sister Vicki into a vampire and staked her when she tried to kill me and my brother.

"Elena?" Matt gently shook my arm. "Where'd you go?"

She blinked, "Sorry Matt but I think we need to break up."

"What?"

"We need to break up," she repeated. She didn't want to hurt him again but she knew that human boys will never be enough for her. Vampire boys had ruined her for life.

"Why?" he asked and ran a hand through his short hair.

She sighed inaudibly, "I don't have time right now. My parents are dead! I've been in a coma for three mothers. School starts soon and my lithe brother started doing drugs with your sister."

Matt shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Elena took a deep breath and asked, "You knew about Jeremy all along?"

"All along? I caught him with Vicki a few weeks after the accident. He said it was his first time and he needed to blow off steam or whatever. I told him you wouldn't want him involved with that shit," Matt reasoned. Did he know before and didn't tell her? He didn't know how embarrassing it was to find out her brother's bad habit from Caroline, the town gossip.

"But you didn't tell me," she furrowed her brow. This was all getting to be too much. What did she do to deserve this? She wasn't sure if she believed in Karma but maybe it was coming to bite her in the ass for lying to everyone she cares about and she didn't want to kill that vampire at the decade dance but it was purely self defense. Nobody wants to plunge pencils into someone's body. The walls of her hospital room started to feel like they were closing in on her. Remember stay calm and take deep breaths, she told herself. She closed her eyes tightly and relished in the darkness it brought. When she reopened her eyes the room was back to normal.

"How was I suppose to tell you, you've been dead to the world for three months," Matt added. He stared at Elena's limp body. "I'm sorry this is too much for you and no offense but you look awful. We can just talk about this later."

Elena shook her head, "No…I've made up my mind. I need to break up and focus on my family."

_Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown  
I know you have felt much more love than you've shown  
And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest_

Jenna chose that exact moment to walk in. She smiled thinly at Matt, "Matt, I hate to kick you out but the nurse is going to be in soon to take Elena for some tests."

He nodded dejectedly and gave Elena an awkward pat on the shoulder, "I'll see you soon."

"What was that all about?" Jenna asked curiously when Elena let out a sigh of relief.

"I broke up with Matt and he had a hard time accepting it. There's too much going on and I don't want to have to worry about keeping him happy and being a couple. And we never really had any chemistry to begin with, our relationship was just there," she explained and suppressed another yawn. She was already exhausted. "Where's Jeremy?"

"He skipped lunch so he's grabbing something from the Grille but he said he would be back soon. I made him walk though," Jenna rolled her eyes. "He missed curfew for the second night in a row. Anyways, I can see you yawning young lady why don't you take a nap and I'll wake you up when its time for your tests." She gave her shoulder a squeeze and took a seat on the recliner chair across the room. Elena turned to her side and shut her eyes.

_Elena ran through the foggy cemetery. Her slim frame was only covered in a pair of black pajamas, the same clothing that she was wearing in the hospital. The frozen dirt collided with her bare feet every time they pounded against the ground. She looked behind her again and saw nothing. She stopped suddenly and clutched her chest in pain. Her legs collapsed underneath her and she fell next to a tombstone. This part of the area tugged at her memory. She looked at the tombstone next to her._

_Elena Gilbert_

_August 10, 1992 – May 14, 2010_

_Loving daughter, sister, friend, and vampire._

_Elena gasped and stumbled backwards; she ignored the pain and ran. She spotted the Mystic Falls Cemetery entrance in the distance. She saw a dark figure out of the corner of her eye. She knew him._

"_Damon!" she cried. He turned and looked at her, he stood completely still. "Thank god, I'm freaking the shit out."_

"_What's going on?" he asked in a monotone voice._

_Elena stared at his blank face, "I don't know, that's what I wanted to ask you. Are you ok? You look lost."_

"_I'm not lost, are you?" he asked in the same dull voice. His crystal blue eyes wandered across the empty graveyard. _

_She tugged on Damon's arm, "What? Seriously Damon, you aren't helping here. My grave is over there." She weakly pointed in the direction she came. "It says I'm dead and that I'm a v-…It has to be Katherine, she's got to be messing with my head somehow but I'm wearing my necklace. The vervain should protect me."_

_Damon glanced at her neck and raised his eyebrow, "Who's this Katherine person? And what necklace? I don't see you wearing one."_

"_Stop playing games with me. You know exactly who Katherine is and the necklace your brother gave me," she fiddled with the top button of her pajamas and reached for her necklace. Her cold fingers touched her bare chest. "My necklace is gone!"_

_He stared at her blankly, "I told you I didn't see you wearing one. And I don't have a brother. At least not anymore, he died years ago."_

_Tears streamed down her face, "I'm going crazy."_

_Damon walked towards the gate. She moved after him when his body fell backwards. Elena threw her body next to his and watched the blood stain his crisp, white shirt. A color she's barely ever seen on him. He hissed in pain as he touched the foreign object protruding from his heart._

"_A stake," Elena whispered. She didn't know what to do but instinct told her to her to pull it out. She gripped the piece of wood._

_Damon gripped on to her hand, "Don't… it's too late. Please don't leave me."_

_Elena sobbed as Damon's eyes flickered shut. She screamed, holding on to his limp body, "Damon! Open your eyes. Damon."_

Elena flew forward in her hospital bed, gasping for air. She mumbled Damon's name under her breath. Jenna stood next to her bed, her face twisted in concern, "Elena! You're alright, just a bad dream."

Elena fell back onto to her bed, "It was so real. I'm sorry I must have freaked you out."

"I'm fine as long as you're okay," she rubbed circles on her back. "Who's Damon? You yelled his name several times."

She scrunched her nose in thought, "I'm not sure but he was in nightmare." She hated lying to her but how was she going to explain him.

"Miss Gilbert," a round, Asian women entered the room. "I'm Nurse Philips; I'm going to take you to get some tests done. Nothing painful, we want to see what your brain has to say."

Elena nodded and Jenna helped the nurse move her to the wheelchair. Jenna made comfortable small talk with the nurse; she could tell that they knew each other pretty well. They made it to the room that held the MRI machine in minutes. Elena soaked up every detail of the trip. She only woke up six hours ago and she was crawling the walls.

"Miss Gilbert, I'm going to place you on the table and I'll press a button that moves you into the machine. You'll have to take off your necklace for the test," Nurse Philips clarified. She interpreted Elena's sudden mood change as nerves once she told her to take off the necklace. "Don't be nervous, if you lay still it won't take long and we can hear you so all you have to do is say something."

Jenna held out her hand, "I'll keep it safe. I know how important it is."

Elena grimaced and unhooked the necklace slowly. She hadn't willingly taken the necklace off since Georgia. She dropped it in Jenna's awaiting hand and took a few deep breaths. Elena settled on to the table. She focused on the top of the tunnel like machine and mentally counted the seconds that passed. She lost track once she hit a thousand seconds. Soon after the nurse announced that she was finished.

"Everything looks ok but I'm sure Dr. Warren is going to want to take a look. I'll page him and have him stop by your room," she wheeled Elena back to her room and helped her back in bed. "Are you hungry?"

Elena blushed when her stomach growled loudly, "Please."

Jenna placed the necklace back around her niece's neck, "Where did you get this necklace anyways?"

"An old friend gave it to me," she replied fingering the round object. It technically was the truth Stefan was a friend and he's old. "How are you adjusting to being the guardian of two teenagers?"

"Much better, you young lady were giving me wrinkles," she pointed to her forehead. "It was hard at first but I think I'm going to be a kick ass- I mean kick butt quasi-parent."

"I think you will be too," she reassured her aunt. The nurse came back in with two cups of pudding because she wasn't allowed to have solid foods yet. Elena ate in silence until Dr. Warren showed up with a smile on his face. "Good news! Your scans didn't show any abnormalities."

"When can I go home?" Elena inquired. She needed to get out of this place and find Stefan or Damon.

He referred to her chart, "You are scheduled for physical therapy tomorrow morning. We need to get your legs moving again because extensive comas can make your legs forget how to walk. We'll see where you are tomorrow and then I can make a decision."

"Thank you Doctor," Jenna shook his hand. She bustled around the room some more, making sure Elena's pillows were fluffed and if she had enough water. Jeremy wandered in with a milkshake from the Grill and a hardcover, leather book. "I figured you might want this to write in."

"How did you know where it was?" Elena asked accusingly but accepting the milkshake and diary.

"You are such a cliché; it was hidden under your mattress." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry I didn't read it, I probably would have died from boredom if I did."

"Of course you didn't," Elena shook her head and slurped on her milkshake. It was her favorite, strawberry and banana. "Thanks Jeremy, you're a pretty great brother, you know."

Jeremy blushed but looked noticeably pleased, "It's not like I brought peace to the world, sis. I think maybe they should check your brain again, I think you hit it harder than they thought."

"Jerk," she stuck her tongue out. Elena fiddled with the blanket on her lap, "But seriously, I love you both and thanks for not giving up on me." She pulled Jeremy and Jenna into a hug.

Jeremy spoke first, "All right, I'm getting out of her before you start crying like a baby again."

Elena slugged his arm, "Good night, Jeremy,"

"I'm going to ask the nurses for more pillows," Jenna moved to the door.

"Aunt Jenna," she called out. "I hope you aren't planning on sleeping here tonight."

Jenna pouted, "But you just woke up."

"And I'm fine," Elena continued. She wanted so badly to be alone with her thoughts. She held her hands up. "No arguing, go home and go to sleep in an actual bed. I'll call you if I need anything plus there are nurses who are paid to take care of me."

"But," Jenna protested. Elena gave her a severe look and crossed her arms. "Agh, I thought I was the only one allowed to give orders. This parenting thing is a pain in the ass. You're lucky I'm too tired to argue, missy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Elena waved her off. "I love you Auntie J."

Jenna groaned and opened the door, "You know how much I hate being called that….Since you just came out of it I'll let it slide, only this time. I still remember all your ticklish spots. But hey, I love you too kid…Sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite."

_More like the vampires_ Elena thought drily. She reached for the diary and pen that Jeremy brought to her.

_Dear Diary,_

_I don't know what to believe any more. Am I under a spell? Did Katherine do this to me? Did I actually get hurt when I blacked out and I'm lying in a hospital bed in the right year? I find myself asking that one question. Was it real? Could it have all been a figment of my imagination? Stefan and Damon…vampires, Bonnie being a witch, and my real mother a vampire too. Jeremy hating me because I wanted to protect him. But how could a single person make all of it up. It had to be real. She felt it all. Those sensations that made me feel alive; I have to drive away the doubt that was making me question my sanity. _

_How do I get back? If I made it out of the accident alive that must mean Stefan saved me. This means he's either in Mystic Falls or will be soon. We met on the first day of school, which is nine days away. Hopefully I'll be out of the hospital soon enough. I keep reminding myself that I don't belong here anymore. This isn't my life and as strange as it sounds it's not the life I want._

_I can't stop thinking about that dream. Did it mean something deeper? Was my head trying to tell me something important? If it was I'm afraid of the reality but I'm determined to find the truth. I hope it's the truth I want to hear…I miss Stefan and I would give anything to hear his voice or see Damon's smirk. I have an idea diary. _

_-Elena_

She opened the drawer in the beside table and slipped her diary in it. The object she was looking for was across the room. Of course with her shitty luck it would be. She ignored the large button next to the bed, she could do this. Elena swung her legs to the side of the bed and hesitantly placed her bare feet on the chilly floor. She walked across the room with ease.

"What the hell," she muttered to herself. She moved her legs around some more. "This should not be easy." Well the doctors were going to have a field day with this miraculous recovery tomorrow.

_But plant your hope with good seeds  
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds  
Rain down, rain down on me  
Look over your hills and be still  
The sky above us shoots to kill  
Rain down, rain down on me_

She picked up the receiver and froze. She couldn't remember Stefan's number, she memorized it days after he gave it to her. All she knew was the area code. She collapsed in the chair next to the phone and buried her head in her hands. She tried to think back to all those times she called him. She couldn't even picture herself punching in the numbers. Why was Damon's number imprinted into her brain? They talked a lot while Stefan was locked up in the basement suffering from human blood withdraw. He would see her suggestive texts that would end with her blushing all the way to her roots and her replying with his name in all caps or telling him to behave or else she would block his number. Seconds after that threat, Damon would make some sarcastic remark about Elena not knowing him at all, "Behaving was his middle name." She picked up the phone again and quickly dialed his number before she could change her mind. She racked her brain for something clever to say or anything that would manage to sound believable if he answered his phone. The sound of the ringing phone magnified to the point where Elena could have sworn it was echoing off the walls of her room. Seven rings later, someone picked up the phone.

"Damon's phone," a woman greeted. Elena could tell that she just finished having a good time with Damon, her voice said it all. Elena ignored her heart tightening in her chest.

Elena wasn't prepared for this or any of this her heart took over seconds before she dialed his number. She replied timidly, "Can I talk to Damon, please."

The mystery woman giggled, "I'm sorry he's in the shower and I've got to go join him...I can give him a message later."

Elena heard rustling in the background and a door closing. Damon's voice stood out clearly. Her hear speed up when she heard a familiar voice. She grasped the phone tighter to her ear. "What are you doing on my phone? I thought I told you not to touch anything."

"I'm sorry baby but the caller id said the hospital and I thought maybe it was important," her voice trembled slightly. "Damon! Stop it!" Elena cringed when she heard the woman's neck snap in the background, a sound that Elena has gotten fairly used to. Great he vamped out and killed the annoying but innocent woman. She needed to remember this wasn't her Damon. Her Damon? She smacked her head, he wasn't hers. More rustling noise and Damon's voice flooded through the phone, "Excuse me for that obnoxious disturbance...People they just don't how to mind their own damn business."

Elena's jaw dropped, she had definitely put away the idea of the Damon with no redeeming qualities. Before Elena registered what she was saying it was too late. "Damon Salvatore! I cannot believe you killed that woman. You can't kill people because you feel like it. You could have compelled her or let it be. Why must I continue to tell you that humans aren't your play things." Elena clamped her mouth shut; it was eerily silent on both sides of the line.

_But I will hold on  
I will hold on hope_

"Who is this?" Damon asked in a dangerously low voice. Elena kept her hand over her mouth. "I know your there, I can hear you breathing."

Damn vampire hearing. Elena tensed, she wouldn't be bullied, "I know you but you don't know me."

"That would be why I'm asking, now who the hell are you?" he repeated.

"I'm from Mystic Falls," Elena whispered and quickly hung up the phone. If he wasn't planning on coming to Mystic Falls he will be now. Elena crawled back into her cold bed. Stupid Elena. She jumped when somebody knocked on the door. Did Damon find her? It was likely but it would be hard to find which room she's in. She checked her necklace to make sure the vervain was still it in. Worse comes to worse she could shove it at Damon somehow. The idea sounded better in her head.

_I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones  
Let the dead bury the dead, they will come out in droves  
But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes you've made_

The door creaked open and her best friend appeared in the door way. "Hey girly, how are you feeling? Sorry, I wasn't here sooner Grams is having me clean out her attic," Bonnie smiled apologetically. A light bulb went off in Elena's head and she filed it away for later. Bonnie gave Elena a tight hug and Elena winced, "Ah sorry! I've missed you so much. I've been dodging Caroline's calls as much as possible. She's a good friend but she doesn't measure up to you."

She smiled at her, "I've missed you too. So catch me up, what's been going on in Mystic Falls? And what have you been doing all summer?"

Bonnie dragged a chair next to her bed, "Everything's pretty much the same here…My summer has been pretty uneventful, I stopped by here everyday. Caroline dragged me to a few of Duke from Duke's parties which ended in me carrying her drunken ass home and lying to the Sherriff. Grams is getting old so she's trying to cram in as much time as possible with me. I'm almost positive that the woman is crazy."

Elena shrugged, "It beats being stuck in a hospital room for the entire summer. On the bright side nobody else can refuse to write their essay about what they did over the summer because they spent most of it in a coma."

"How are you really doing? With your parents being gone," Bonnie inquired gently.

"I'm okay," Elena said. She had almost a year to deal with it. A flicker of doubt flashed in Bonnie's eyes. "Really. It's like I knew when I woke up and all this time I've been asleep my mind knew something was missing and it was dealing during my coma. Does that make sense?" She hated not being able to spill her guts to Bonnie but this Bonnie wasn't ready to hear what she had to say.

Bonnie frowned, "Not really but I think I know what you mean…You would tell me if something was wrong, you know you can talk to me whenever you need me."

Elena nodded, tears pooling in her dark eyes. Bonnie knew something was different but she dropped the matter. Elena pulled her into another hug, "I know."

_But plant your hope with good seeds  
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds  
Rain down, rain down on me_

* * *

Review!


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took me so long to post this but the story is finally moving and I've already got a majority of the next part mapped out in my head.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Vampire Diaries nor do I own the song Everywhere I Go by Lissie.

**Chapter Three**

_And I fall on my knees  
Tell me how's the way to be  
Tell me how's the way to go  
Tell me all that I should know_

_**One Week Later**_

"Are you sure your okay with me leaving?" Jenna asked for the umpteenth time. She tamed her hair with her free hand. "I can stay if you need me. You were just released for the hospital yesterday."

"I'm fine," Elena stressed. After her first physical therapy appointment, the doctors were in a frenzy to find out why her legs were working so perfectly. Several tests later they had but no choice to release her seeing as she was absolutely healthy. "I'm going to hang around the house maybe see what Bonnie is up to."

Jenna bit her lip, "The doctor did say you were good to go. Are you positive? I'll keep my cell phone on me if you need anything at all."

"Seriously, go!" she waved her off. Elena fell back on to the living room couch. Jeremy left about three minutes after Elena sat down at the table for breakfast. The grandfather clock next to the bookshelf chimed when the two hands struck nine. The air conditioner blasted from the vents, she tied her robe tighter around her waist. She trudged her tired body up the stairs. She had several things to get done today. Her new cell phone buzzed on her bed.

She opened her cell phone, one new text message from Bonnie.

_**do you want to go to the mall? please! you know how Caroline gets when shopping.**_

She wasn't in the mood to shop but she did need back to school clothes because each of clothes she thought she owned she hadn't bought yet in this timeline. _**what time?**_

Her cell phone vibrated again. _**around 12, i'm finished cleaning grams attic and I have a dentist appointment at 10.**_

__Elena replied a moment later. _**I'll let you know. xoxo**_

She started the shower and set out her outfit. She didn't notice the crow watching her from the tree outside her window. The warm water slid down her back. She usually loved to think in the shower but her mind was exhausted. She spent any free time and most of her nights at the hospital writing ideas and reasons in journal or ways she could go back. She leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes taking in the silence around her. She let a few stray tears fall down her face. The knobs squeaked when she turned off the water. She's had mini breakdowns everyday sometimes twice a day, it freaked Elena out. She wasn't used to being this weak but for the firs time in a long time she was truly alone. She could only find solace in her diary the one place she could tell the truth.

She shook her head, "That is so sad."

She opened the drawers under the sink and reached for a comb but all she found were washcloths. Wrong place, she forgot that she rearranged her bedroom and bathroom after he parent's death. She cleaned when she grieved. Her room felt ten degrees hotter than it did earlier. She fixed the towel around her chest and frowned. She did not open her window. A crow cawed in the distance. She shut the window quickly and retreated back to the bathroom to get dressed. She didn't miss the mystery that followed the Salvatore brothers around. It did her good though; Elena paid a lot more attention to every detail around her. Another side effect of hanging out with vampires all the time, you learn it's better to be safe than sorry.

She grabbed her keys off her dresser and head out. Technically, the doctor said she might not want to drive for a while but Elena interpreted the might as a precautionary warning. She was fine, all things considered. She headed down the familiar streets eventually pulling into a driveway. Thankfully Bonnie wasn't here; her presence would have been hard to explain. She hesitantly knocked on the oak door.

_And I fall on my knees  
Tell me how's the way to go  
Tell me how's the way to be  
To evoke some empathy_

Bonnie's grandmother opened the door, "Elena what a surprise! How are you feeling? You know Bonnie isn't here."

Elena mentally noted her guarded expression. Before all the drama with the Salvatore brothers and the tomb vampires, she had only met Shelia once or twice. She tugged at her leather jacket and shrugged, "I'm healing, glad to be home. But I actually came here to talk to you."

"Oh, well I just baked a fresh batch of cookies," she opened the door wider, trying to discretely watch Elena's movement.

Elena stepped over the threshold. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm not a vampire but if it makes you feel better you can add a side of vervain to my cookies. However, I would be stingy with it. We are going to have a sudden influx of vampires."

Shelia narrowed her eyes, "How do you know about vampires and what do you mean about an influx of vampires?"

"Maybe we should sit down," Elena suggested. She neglected to tell her doctor about the dizziness she's been experiencing but Elena chalked it up to vertigo or low blood pressure or several other diagnoses Web MD gave her last night. "I'm sorry I caught you off guard but you might be the only one with answers."

"How about you give me my answers first," Shelia crossed her arms after she placed the plate of cookies on the kitchen table. Elena sipped on the glass of lemonade almost bracing herself for the bitter taste of vervain. Thankfully it tasted as lemonade should.

Elena sighed; Bonnie was exactly like her grandmother. "I will but I need to explain my predicament. Have you noticed a surge in magical activity…possibly a week ago?"

"Around the time you woke up?" Shelia asked. She closed her eyes thinking back. "No more than the usual. At least from what I can remember."

"No more than usual?" Elena frowned; her mind was trying to process the information. She chewed on a chocolate chip cookie and swallowed quickly before asking her next question. "Bonnie isn't a practicing witch yet, besides you, what other supernatural beings are in Mystic Falls?"

Shelia looked at her sharply, "How do you know about Bonnie? She doesn't even know."

"I'm Bonnie's best friend," she replied simply. Shelia stood up from the table. "I think I time traveled somehow."

Shelia faltered, not expecting those exact words to come out of Elena's mouth, "What?"

Elena picked at fingernails, a nervous habit she needed to break and then stared at Shelia full on, "I blacked out on May 14, 2010 and woke up in the hospital on August 19, 2009."

"You are saying you are from the future," Shelia asked carefully, placing her hands on her hip. Elena nodded. "That takes some powerful magic, my dear. But how am I supposed to believe you."

Elena bit her lip, "You and Bonnie are direct descendents of Emily, a very powerful witch and you also had ancestors who were burned during the Salem Witch Trials. You hide your grimoire in a loose floorboard under the rug in your bedroom. You hate vampires but you seem to like Stefan."

"Stefan Salvatore?" she questioned. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."

"Since the 60s, I believe," Elena smirked as the dumbfounded expression crossed over the witch's face. "Will you allow me to explain what happened?" Elena continued to give Shelia the cliff notes and much edited version of what occurred after she met Stefan. Shelia mumbled at various points in the story gathering information for later use. Whether for personal gain or a way to help Elena she didn't know which. She also neglected to mention Shelia's death and Bonnie's hostility towards her after her grandmother's death. She figured those factors might affect Shelia's decision.

Shelia touched her arm, "You are leaving something out, my dear." A rush of cold air breezed through the kitchen. She prodded at her mind and saw nothing. She pulled back quickly as if Elena was on fire. Shelia squeezed her eyes shut, "Stop!"

"I'm not doing anything," Elena insisted hoarsely. She tried to reach out to Shelia. "What's going on?"

Shelia clutched the ends of the table, "You pushed me out of your mind."

"What?" Elena asked incredulously. "I didn't do anything, I swear. I didn't even know you were going to poke around in my mind."

"Who are you?"

"Elena Gilbert," she told her. She paused and shook her head. "I don't know anymore. This isn't me. I don't belong here and I don't know what to do. I keep telling myself I need to get home but I'm stuck here and you're my only chance at doing that."

Shelia's dark eyes followed her every movement. "I'm not sure I can help you. I'm a very powerful witch but there's something at work here far more powerful than I've ever seen."

"No!" Elena cried out as Shelia led her to the door. Tears pooled in her eyes, she begged, "Please help me."

_Danger will follow me now  
Everywhere I go  
Angels will call on me  
And take me to my home  
Well this tired mind  
Just wants to be lead home_

"I'm sorry child but there's nothing I can do," Shelia began to close the door in her face. "I will try to look into this but I'm afraid that's not much. I don't want to involve myself in vampire affairs anymore than I already have."

_That's one thing that hasn't changed_ she thought bitterly. With sagged shoulders and watery eyes Elena drove away feeling more hopeless than ever. She headed to her second destination. For days she thought about returning to the boarding house and eventually rehearsed a believable story that would get her what she wanted. She put her car into park and took a minute to calm her nerves. She grabbed her messenger bag from the passenger seat and exited her car.

Zach rose from his position in the garden. He smiled, "Elena Gilbert this is a surprise. It's good to see you out of the hospital and you're looking much better."

"Thanks Zach," she bit her lip and tried to look embarrassed. For the first time since she woke up here, she prayed that Stefan or Damon wasn't at the boarding house because it would put a serious dent in her plan. Since her parents or adopted parents she should say, were on the Founder's Council, they were good friends with the much younger and breathing Salvatore. She had forgotten about Zach due to Damon exacting his revenge on him. Hopefully Elena could put a stop to that this time around if she's still here. "This is kind of embarrassing. It seems that my brain is still a little fuzzy on details so I got turned around and I told myself I'd stop at the first house I saw. I've been driving for a while, do you mind?" She jerked her hand towards the house.

"Of course, I'd show you the way but I don't want to track mud in the house. Just go straight in take a right down the hallway, it's the last door on the left," he replied. Elena refrained from doing a victory dance; her plan was working out perfectly. She tiptoed through the house even though it wouldn't matter a vampire could probably hear her from miles away.

Instead of opening the door on the left she turned to the door on the right. She cringed when the first step creaked underneath her. Once her feet hit the basement floor she ran as quietly as humanly possible. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pushed it open, letting out a deep sigh of relief. The small room contained several tall vervain plants. She opened the plastic bag that took from her kitchen earlier and picked enough vervain that wouldn't cause any suspicion. She doubled checked the room and made sure nothing was out of place. She skipped the first stair and closed the basement door gently. She went into the bathroom, flushed the toilet and washed her hands just to cover her tracks. When she stepped back outside, Zach stopped his gardening and wiped his hands on his dirty jeans.

"Thank you so much, I feel like such an idiot," Elena fidgeted. She held on tighter to her messenger bag that contained the vervain.

Zach shook his head, "No problem at all. It's nice to see a friendly face way out here if I don't go in to town I forget there's such a thing called civilization." He gave her directions on how to get back to the main road which she could get to blindfolded. Elena opened her car door and gasped when she saw her boyfriend's reflection in the window.

_And I fall on my knees  
Tell me how's the way to go  
Tell me how's the way to see  
Show me all that I could be_

"Jesus, Ste-seriously you scared the crap out of me," she swung around; she could of slapped herself, a slip of the tongue like that could get in her trouble. She could feel Zach staring at them both.

"Sorry," Stefan smiled charmingly. She absorbed every feature of his, relishing in the fact that he looked the same. Almost the same. His eyes were a few shades lighter and a color she's never seen on him before. It wasn't unusually for his eyes to become lighter after feeding but something she's probably only noticed. This was too different and it left Elena with a feeling of dread that weighed down her stomach. Her confused thoughts were interrupted when he spoke again, "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Stefan Salvatore, Zach's nephew, I just moved back here. Do you attend the high school?"

She couldn't shake the bad feelings that seemed to be radiating from her boyfriend's body. She smiled faintly, "I'll be a junior this year and I'm Elena Gilbert, its nice to meet you…I didn't know Zach had any family."

"Yeah, there aren't many Salvatore's left but I wanted to come back to visit my hometown and hopefully graduate here," he shrugged. His eyes focused on her neck and Elena unconsciously touched her locket. She inwardly cursed at her stupidity; she forgot that Stefan would recognize her necklace. He reached out and touched the silver locket. A deep shiver ran down her spine. "I've never seen a necklace like this before. Where did you get this?"

She struggled to control her frantically beating heart. She stumbled over her words, "Um, it's a family heirloom…My mother left it to me in her will."

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed for a second and stared into her eyes. He shifted his body closer to her to shield her face from Zach. His pupils began to dilate the dark orbs were hypnotizing. He asked her slowly, "Where did you get that necklace?"

In the split second after his demeanor changed Elena knew what was going to happen next. She witnessed him compelling the rude guy at the party. She mimicked his reaction and held his stare, she masked her face and it instantly appeared to be blank. She replied in a monotone voice, "My mother left it to me in her will."

He gazed deeper into her eyes, "Why did you stop at the boarding house today?"

"I got lost and needed to use the bathroom, I stopped at the first house I saw," she answered mechanically. It was becoming harder and harder to stay focused on his eyes.

"You stopped here to use the bathroom and talked to Zach. You met me and we talked about school, you gave me your cell phone number," Stefan continued after Elena recited her cell phone number. "Go carry on with the rest of the plans you had for today. Do you understand?"

Stefan's eyes returned to normal and Elena nodded. She turned on the engine to her car and rolled down her window faking a bright smile, "Call me!"

Elena didn't look back nor did she bother wiping away the tear running down her cheek. Her boyfriend tried to compel her...But it wasn't her boyfriend and that's what made it even worse. Seeing him look at her it made her wonder if he saw Katherine. He said he wanted to know her, Elena Gilbert but this Stefan probably saw his long lost love. Of course, he didn't know her yet and there's a chance he could become her Stefan again. She wasn't sure she wanted to take that chance. Elena wanted her Stefan back.

_And I fall on my knees  
Tell me how's the way to be, yeah  
Tell me how's the way to go  
Tell me why I feel so low_

The clock in her car read eleven-thirty. She sent Bonnie a quick text telling her that she would be waiting in the book store. She walked to the back of the store and collapsed onto one of the overstuffed chairs.

She picked up a book on the coffee table and flipped through the first few pages until she realized it was the newest Twilight book. She muttered under her breath, "Freaking vampires are everywhere and they don't even sparkle in the sun. Ridiculous."

A younger girl a few feet away glared at Elena after she nearly slammed the book down. She ignored the display of all things vampire including an Idiot's Guide to Vampires and different items relation to the Twilight Saga. She found the magazine section and plucked an issue of Cosmopolitan that she's already read. In an effort to kill time she sat back down and read it cover to cover, absorbed as she was in the magazine she didn't hear Bonnie and Caroline approach.

"50 sex tricks?" Caroline nudged Elena. "Is there some juicy details you've been leaving out?"

Elena rolled her eyes and gave Caroline a one-arm hug, "You wish you knew…Kidding."

"Hm, I mean you're single now it's not like you need those tips I guess or maybe you've already bagged someone else?" Caroline mused. Bonnie shook her head behind Caroline and wrapped her arms around her two friends. The darker skinned girl smiled, "I'm glad we are all back together again."

"Me too," Elena agreed and turned to Caroline. "Not that I'm upset but you better have a good reason for not visiting me in the hospital after I woke up."

Caroline held her hands up in defense, "You'll have to talk to the Sheriff about this one. I've totally been on house arrest for the past week. I had to beg to leave the house this morning and I don't beg."

"It doesn't have anything to do with hardcore partying you were doing the past few months?" Elena raised her eyebrow at the blonde. The three girls stayed close together while they walked around the clothing store.

Caroline scoffed, "I would hardly call it hardcore partying."

"I would disagree," Bonnie interjected. She held up a shirt for closer inspection. "On several different occasions I had to stop you from making out with a tree and tell it to my back its still protesting from the time I carried you piggy back style down an entire block and up a flight of stairs."

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed, her cheeks becoming a bright shade of pink. "You pinky swore that you would never bring that up."

Bonnie grinned, "Sorry…I was just proving my point."

"Whatever," Caroline shook her head. "The Sheriff is all freaked out about these animal attacks-."

"What animal attacks?" Elena asked quickly. This meant for sure that there were vampires in town or more accurately, that Damon was back in Mystic Falls.

Caroline looked around the store and leaned towards Elena. "No one's supposed to know about this but I got bored one day hanging around the house and snuck on to my mom's email. Apparently, four people have been killed in freak animal attacks and no one knows what kind of animal it is. Only one of them was killed in the daylight, the other three were killed in the middle of the night. The Sherriff finds that reason enough to keep me locked away in the house."

Bonnie frowned, "And they were all killed here in Mystic Falls?"

"Yup. The animal killed the one victim during the daylight out by that old boarding house at the edge of town a few days ago," Caroline whispered. Elena fought a shiver and thought about Stefan's eyes. "It's creepy but honestly I don't care, school is about to start and I can't spend my final days of freedom locked away like Rapunzel."

Elena laughed weakly, "All right Rapunzel we'll see if we can find some guys willing to climb up your golden hair and rescue you to the land of beer and bonfires."

"Wow so romantic…" Caroline sighed dreamily. The girls broke out in fits of giggles and Elena temporarily forgot that there was anything bad in the world. They each tried on different outfits and left the store with at least one shopping bag in hand, two shopping bags if you were Caroline. "Victoria's Secret next? Elena's going to need some sexy bras and panties to impress her new guy."

"Ah yes 'cause you guys know me…I'm all about impressing guys with my sexy undergarment collection," she held up her hands. She briefly thought about the time she caught Damon rifling through her underwear drawer.

Bonnie gasped theatrically, "So now there is more than one guy in the picture?"

"You two will be the death of me," Elena groaned. She sifted through the bras and almost laughed aloud when she found the one Damon picked out of her drawer. Oh the irony.

"Oh but you love us," Caroline grinned and tossed a pair of skimpy panties at Elena. "So when are you going to give us the details? You know about you dumping Matt."

Elena shook her head, "I've been wondering when you were going to bring that up."

"I'm surprise she last this long," Bonnie remarked to Elena. The girls moved around the store picking up various items before moving to the fitting rooms.

"Hey! I'm standing two feet away," Caroline argued playfully. She hooked a vibrant, blue bra and checked herself out in the mirror. "Plus the general public wants to know what happened to Mystic Falls' Golden Couple."

"The general public?" Elena questioned. Seeing as her none of her sizes changed recently she sat in the dimly lit fitting room and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her surroundings started to get fuzzy and the dizziness took over, she took the few minutes in the fitting room to steady herself. "There's really not that much to tell."

Caroline opened the door to her room and gave her a look, "I may be blonde but I am not stupid. What happened?"

Bonnie led them to the front of the store and they each purchased their clothing. "Maybe Elena doesn't want to talk about it Care."

"No, its fine Bonnie I can talk about it…I'm not sure what to say though," Elena told them. The girls walked aimlessly around the mall until they decided to sit down at a table near the edge of the food court.

_Danger will follow me now  
Everywhere I go  
Angels will call on me  
And take me to my home  
Well these tired eyes  
Just want to remain closed_

_I don't see clearly, can't feel nothing no  
Can't you hear me?_

"Okay! I can't take this anymore," Caroline threw up her hands and scooted closer to Elena. "I kissed Matt at a party a few weeks ago. We were both drunk and the doctors didn't think you were going to come out of your coma…Matt was super upset and I kissed him."

Elena looked away. How was she supposed to feel about this news? She wasn't with Matt in either times and she liked Caroline and Matt together. Honestly, Caroline kissing Matt was the least of her problems. Bonnie quietly argued with Caroline, she didn't know about this either and didn't think the timing of her confession was appropriate. "Okay," she replied simply.

Bonnie and Caroline stopped talking and stared at Elena's composed expression with their mouths hanging open. Caroline recovered first, "What? I broke the cardinal rule in the girl code…I should be shunned from society or something."

"Really its fine," Elena insisted. She folded her hands in her lap and tried to explain how she was feeling. "Things between Matt and I are over, our relationship was comfortable and he will always be my first love but I didn't see us going any further."

"But Matt is clearly still in love with you," Bonnie told her.

Elena sighed, "He'll move on…I know he will and I can't help that he isn't the guy I want anymore."

"And who is the guy want, Elena Gilbert?" Caroline asked while wiggling her eyebrows up and down. "Does this guy have anything to do with you research in Cosmo?"

Elena blushed and rested her face on the palm of her hand. "Would it be completely cliché if I said I was looking for someone tall, dark, and handsome?" Because those three words fit Stefan to a tee, she added to herself.

Bonnie laughed, "You mean like that guy over there that has been staring at you for the past five minutes?"

"The seriously hot one…You should go talk to him and when your done with him I'll take him," Caroline said gleefully and gently pushed Elena out of her chair.

Elena furrowed her brow and followed their eyes, "What guy?"

"Oh that's weird…He was standing right over there. Dark hair, leather jacket," Bonnie went on but Elena stopped listening when she caught a glimpse of his raven colored hair. Without giving it a second thought, Elena grabbed her purse and ran after him.

_And I fall on my knees  
And angels will call on me  
Now everywhere I go  
Angels will call on me  
And take me to my home_

"I'll be back, I think," she shouted over her shoulder. She carried her way through the crowd trying to follow him. She stopped next to the department store where she saw him last. Elena whipped her head around, breathing heavily she found herself alone.

"Looking for me?"

_And angel will fall on me  
Everywhere I walk  
Angels will call on me  
And take me to my home_

_And angels will call on me  
Now everywhere I go  
Angels will follow me  
Now lead me to my home_

_

* * *

Reviews make me very happy.  
_


	4. Chapter Four

I know. Its been forever since I last updated but I'm here now and hopefully here to stay. I have a wonderful beta **Damon's 86 **who basically made this chapter happen and edited out all my awkward bits, who also add some great lines. So most likely if you find something you like in this chapter which hopefully you do you'll probably owe it to her. I have the next few chapters outlined and I'm going to get started on the next chapter in the next few days.

I'm dedicating this chapter to my good friend **Andrea**, her birthday was a few days ago and she's definitely one of the reasons this is getting posted. Happy Birthday!

**Disclaimer: **You know the drill. I don't own the Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ Smith, Julie Plec, and Kevin Williamson along with the CW blah blah blah.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"_Looking for me?"_

Elena muffled a gasp and slowly turned to face the elder Salvatore brother. Damon leaned up against the wall outside the department store, a slow smirk spreading across his chiseled features. "Elena Gilbert."

"And who are you?" she asked coolly. Every idea and scenario she thought about when it came to meeting Damon again escaped her. This Damon could kill her in an instant and not think twice about it.

"Oh don't play coy with me Elena," he placed emphasize on her name. He leaned towards Elena, his eyes sparkling, "I'm sure you remember our phone conversation."

She nodded, placing a hand on her hip, "I'm surprised it took you this long to make your presence known. I'm actually a bit disappointed…I thought you had a flair for dramatics but stalking me? Are you losing your touch?" Taunting a deadly vampire probably wasn't her best idea but Elena was angry. The Salvatore brothers affected her life in so many ways both good and bad but this time when she thought about it, the reason she was stuck in this timeline could be traced back to her boyfriend and his brother.

In an instant, Damon pushed Elena up against the wall, his fangs extended and the tiny veins around his eyes darkened. She shivered as his mouth grazed her ear, "How about this for dramatic? I could drain your body right now and leave it for your lovely friends to find."

Taunting a vampire equaled a bad idea, Elena mentally noted. Suddenly, she wished she didn't follow him to the deserted area of the mall. She ignored her speeding heart rate and touched Damon's arm, "Not a good idea, you need me."

Damon let out a humorless chuckle, "I need you?" His tone suggested how ridiculous her words were as if a vampire could need a human even though one of the main reasons he stood before her is because of humans.

"I have information you are looking for," she stated boldly. She prayed to a god she didn't believe in, that Damon was still looking for Katherine.

He considered her words and stepped back. "And what information would that be?"

She smiled weakly, "I have one word for you Damon; Katherine."

Damon's mask slipped for merely a second but Elena saw the surprise splashed across his face. His eyebrows knitted together, he looked deeply in her eyes a familiar expression forming, "What do you know about Katherine?"

"Seriously! Is this compel Elena day and no one told me," Elena mumbled to herself. She told him, "It's not going to work…I sprinkled some vervain in my protein shake this morning. So I wouldn't recommend draining me either."

"I could always snack on one of your friends," he suggested, raising one eyebrow.

She sighed, "Please Damon, I have enough problems as it is. I know things and these things could really help you out but this is a 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours situation."

"Hm," he tapped his chin in a thinking manner. "As much as I enjoy this game of cat and mouse, in which I am the cat by the way…I'm doing just fine on my own and frankly helping humans isn't high on my list of priorities."

Elena scoffed, "This is the first real lead you've had in about 150 years."

His retort died on his lips when he saw her friends heading towards them, "So that was a no on snacking on your friends' right?"

She bit her lip, "No snacking on my friends and I'll explain later."

Damon flashed her a grin before snaking his arm around her waist, "You two must be Bonnie and Caroline, it's so nice to meet you…I've heard a great deal about the both of you. I'm Damon." From eavesdropping no doubt, classic Damon Elena added silently. He held out his hand and shook Caroline's first.

Caroline purred, "I hope they were all bad things." Elena dug her nails into Damon's side, knowing that it wouldn't faze him at all but it made her feel better. He responded by pulling her closer and winking at her.

"Nice to meet you too," Bonnie smiled. He grasped her hand and Bonnie gasped quietly pulling back her hand. Elena's eyes widened, she momentarily forgotten about Bonnie's witchy mojo. Realization dawned on Damon's face and Elena acted fast, Damon has always been unpredictable.

She hugged Damon tighter and pressed her head against his chest. She laughed lightly, "Another case of the hiccups? Bonnie gets the weirdest hiccups…"

Damon nodded, "I bet she does. I'm sorry to steal Elena away from your shopping trip but we need some alone time if you know what I mean."

Caroline mouthed 'hot' when Damon's back was turned and gave Elena her shopping bags. "You forgot these at the table. Call us later with details."

She gave Caroline a hug and wrapped her arms around a frazzled Bonnie, "Yeah, I'll talk to you later."

Damon all but dragged Elena away from her friends and towards one of the mall's exits, "I take it you were trying to keep Miss Bennett's true identity up your sleeve?"

"How did you know who Bonnie was?" Elena frowned, looking at Damon questioningly. "She didn't tell you her last name."

He scoffed, "Come on Elena Dearest, you aren't the only one privy to the town's secrets. Not to mention I can smell a fresh witch from miles away."

She realized that Damon led her straight to her car and it probably meant he wasn't going to kill her yet. She dug around in her purse for the car keys and looked at Damon, deciding to push her luck. "While you're in town could you try not to kill anyone? Please?"

"I'm a vampire, Elena," he rolled his eyes. "And being a vampire means I get to feast on humans whenever I want, wherever I want. However I want"

She sighed, "I know you're a vampire and it's not like I'm asking you to take up an animal diet-." Damon made of face of pure disgust and motioned for Elena to continue her tirade. She turned on the engine and rolled down a window. "I know you're all about the devil may care charade, but you _need_ be more careful."

Damon let out a low whistle and leaned through the open window, "Very soon you will explain to me how you know these things. I would force it out of you now, however I'm thinking a family reunion might be nice. For the time being Let me remind you again that I'm a vampire and I don't really care about what happens, I'll continue to do whatever the fuck I want because I can."

Her eyes hardened, "Fine, it's your funeral but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Why do you assume I won't rip your head off?" Damon seethed, he quickly he grabbed on to Elena's neck and squeezed tightly. "Whew…Your heart is racing."

She swallowed the fear firmly lodged in her throat, "I think…you are forgetting that I have information…about her." It was getting harder for her to string words together let alone breathe.

"Screw your information, how do I know you aren't messing with me," he glared at her, not releasing his grip at all. She clawed at his hands unsuccessfully trying to break his hold on her. "I can twist your neck in a heartbeat and not think twice about it."

"Stop, please Damon. Just kill me already," she gasped, moisture leaked from her eyes. She wanted the Damon she knew back. The one who told her, her mother sucked for leaving her. Looking at this stranger, she missed the one that forced her to have fun in Georgia. Black spots clouded her vision; she felt her body slowing down.

Just as she fought to stay conscious Damon pulled away, smiling tauntingly, "I'm not gonna kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda."

Elena doubled over in her seat and gulped as much air as she could before she turned to Damon, "What did you say?" Those words set off an alarm in her head. Damon had said those exact words to her after she found out what the Salvatore brothers were. She tried to swim out of the murky haze that had seeped into her brain when Damon wrapped his hand around her throat. She closed her eyes and remembered that night, the way Damon forced his way into her house. How he looked at her when she asked if he thanked Katherine for what she made him into.

"What's wrong with you?" Damon asked curiosity getting the best of him.

She frowned, "You just tried to kill me."

Damon smirked and rolled his eyes, "Don't be so melodramatic like I said I'm not going to kill you...yet."

"Thank you, that makes me feel so much better," she massaged her neck and wiped away stray tears. For the first time in a long time, Elena was afraid.

"I'm really not enjoying being out of the loop," Damon seethed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think this does call for a family reunion."

He turned away and Elena called out after him, "Damon. Stefan can't know about any of this. Me helping you and us knowing each other."

Damon smirked, "Sneaking around behind Stefan's back? I think this is gong to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship…Seeing as I'm in it, you're in it, and _he_ is not."

"Friendship," she amended, sighing she put the car in reverse. "Remember no killing!" She drove away, Damon's loud laugh echoing in her mind. Why does she feel so damn guilty?

Elena pushed open her front door and listened for any noise indicating that someone was home. She came up with nothing. Her Aunt Jenna wouldn't be home until at least five and Jeremy was still out doing whatever he was doing. She needed to have a serious talk with him, if she ends up sticking around here, she'll improve her relationship with Jeremy. She found herself climbing the stairs to the attic. The room was cluttered with neatly labeled boxes: photo albums, her parents' clothes, boxes of files from her father's office. She took a seat on the dusty floor in the corner of the room. She had gotten used to the constant flashes of déjà vu that haunted her a few times a day. Almost a year ago, Elena was sifting through those boxes for the party and this time she wasn't going to let the pocket watch out of her sight. She briefly pondered about the party whether she should go or if she could feign an illness.

She spread out the boxes around her and opened the closest one. Her ancestors kept a lot of their items most them were slightly damaged from being passed down to each generation. She made separate piles of picture, journals, and everything she could find that could be useful. She wished she had someone to confide in or rely on. Her thoughts drifted to Damon, the cold, calculating looks he gave her. The way he smiled as he let go of her throat. She had to remember that this Damon didn't know or care about her. He didn't know how deeply she cared; a feat not easily accomplished given all the harm he brought her loved ones, by choice or by accident. He didn't know that she saw past the sarcasm and flippant nature. She saw through him to the man he once was, and the man he can be. She saw Damon.

She quickly wiped away the tears and peered into a much larger box, uncovering more medical books. She almost pushed aside the box when she noticed a corner of a small wooden chest sticking out from under the piles of books. She pulled out the chest and gingerly examined it, the chest was a dark chestnut wood with a crest engraved on the top that she didn't recognize. She furrowed her brow and tugged on the latch, the top didn't even budge.

"Maybe it's locked somehow," she mumbled. She examined the chest, there wasn't a lock but it had hinges so it had to open. She grunted in frustration and dug her nails into the opening. No luck. She sat it aside and focused on the pocket watch, she wondered how hard it would be to find the missing pieces to activate it. She almost wished she had the Gilbert device it would come in handy if she saw Katherine again.

The continued pile up of hate she has for Katherine was overwhelming. She hated the way she strung along Stefan and Damon, making them into something they didn't want to be. She hated how Damon spent over a century and a half trying to get the woman he loved out of a tomb only to find that she was alive and didn't care to find him. She hated how much she looked like someone so evil and manipulative. She hated feeling so much anger towards a single person. She hated how sometimes she caught Stefan starting at her with a far away look knowing that he was seeing _her_.

Elena brushed her dusty hands on her jeans; another large antique chest held what she was looking for. She placed the journal and watch in her lap preparing to pack up the memorabilia when the loose floorboard at the top of the stairs creaked.

A hand touched her shoulder, "Mrs. Lockwood finally get a hold of you?"

Elena shrieked, "Jeremy! A little warning wouldn't kill ya would it?"

"Sorry," he snickered. "It was too easy. So are you looking for Mrs. Lockwood?"

She pushed the journal and chest behind her, "What about her?"

"You know for the Founder's Party…Heritage display bullshit? She's been hounding us for the antique stuff. Jenna almost threw her out of the hospital week and a half ago," he smirked at the memory. "It was awesome."

Elena grinned, seeing her brother even remotely happy made her jump for joy. "I'm sorry I missed that but no she didn't Jenna must have successfully scared her off. I noticed that Mom and Dad's stuff was gone when I got home so you know…"

He cleared his throat and sat on the top stair, "Uh yeah. Aunt Jenna went on about the psychological effects from not packing away their stuff…How if we were going to move on we should put it up here. I think there was more psychological scientific crap but I started to tune her out and she was obviously freaking out about you so it gave her something to do. I'm sorry 'Lena."

"Its fine, I'm kinda relieved I didn't come home to find everything where it belongs like they never left," Elena muttered. She pushed away the sad thoughts and clapped her hands together. "I've got an idea…Will you be staying for dinner?"

Jeremy grimaced, "Jenna burning Mac N' Cheese, the box kind, by the way, I'm not even sure that was possible and then her ordering pizza doesn't really make me want to stay around."

"I temporarily forgot about her ability to ruin the simplest meals," Elena laughed. "She's trying though…But I was thinking about making my famous pasta."

"Famous pasta? Don't you have to have made it first to be famous," Jeremy remarked.

She froze, of course she's made it several times there, "It will be famous, and I have it on good authority that you will love it."

He looked at her, "Okay?"

"So you'll stay for dinner?" Elena asked pouting slightly and clasped her hands together.

"For you, 'Lena, I'll stay but if it sucks you're buying me a burger and onion rings at the Grill."

"Your faith in my cooking is overwhelming," she feigned hurt. "Speaking of buying food I have one more request…Since your up and gone early every morning I figured we could go visit mom and dad, maybe put some flowers down. I just don't want to go alone, you know?"

Jeremy nodded, swinging an arm around her shoulder, "Yeah. I can do it and I'm sure mom and dad have been waiting for you to visit."

She sighed in relief, "Thanks, it really means a lot to me."

"I'll be in my room, let me know when dinner is ready," he said, standing up and heading back down the stairs.

Elena closed the boxes and gathered the journals, chest, and pocket watch in her arms. She silently moved to her bedroom, she didn't want to answer any questions Jeremy might have to the objects in her arms. She closed the bedroom door behind her setting the small chest on the end table in her closet. The journals went in the nightstand next to her bed while the watch was placed in the hidden compartment of her mom's jewelry box. She pulled the baggy out of her purse and started on dinner.

Billie Holiday's smoky voice filled the kitchen while Elena flitted around the room getting out ingredients and pots. She slid the knife across the cutting board and dropped the pieces of tomatoes in the saucepan. She chopped up different fresh herbs and emptied them into small glass bowls. The front door slammed shut and Jenna flung herself into one of the chairs, "I am so having a few glasses of wine tonight. I would yell at you for not resting but whatever you are making smells delicious."

Elena uncorked a bottle of wine and poured her aunt a glass, "I was bored and Jeremy agreed to eat to stay and eat with us."

Jenna smacked her lips together, "Perfect. So do you need help with anything?"

"No. no. I've got everything covered," Elena shook her head vehemently. "Why don't you go change out of your fancy clothes."

Jenna beamed, "I love you kid. I'll be back in a few to help with something. You know I'm an expert at setting tables."

Elena finely chopped her final ingredients, pushing it aside before pulling out the fixings for the salad. She danced around the room; Billie Holiday was her parent's favorite singer. She almost felt normal. Minutes later Jenna's footsteps pounded down the noisy stairs, at the same time the doorbell rang. Elena didn't register the other voice until it was outside the kitchen.

"Elena! You didn't tell me you had someone coming over," Jenna walked in, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Had I known I wouldn't have changed into these old rags."

"Don't be silly Jenna, you look ravishing if I do say so myself," the guest winked at her. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I should stop by. Obviously it was rude of me."

Jenna held onto the countertop and finished off her wine, "Not at all, you are welcome anytime. Elena is making…"

"We are having Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce, its one of Spanuello's famous dishes. Damon, what are you doing here?" Elena frowned, folding her arms over her chest.

Jenna's jaw dropped, "Elena!"

Damon turned to Jenna, "Its okay. Elena is a little mad at me."

"A little mad at you?" she gasped. She looked over at Jenna who looked mildly confused at her niece's behavior. "Jenna could you give us a few minutes please."

She shrugged, "We are talking later, missy."

Damon leaned over the island, his face only a few inches from hers. "So you're more than a little mad at me?"

She pushed aside her hair and showed him her neck, red handprints shown against her slender neck. "You almost killed me today."

Damon rolled his eyes, and shrugged a shoulder "Semantics…I wasn't going to kill you."

"I think my neck begs to differ," Elena whispered harshly. She dropped the chunks of lettuce into the bowl.

He laughed. "Your aunt is listening at the door."

Elena released the knife, "And you're just now telling me this? Oh this is bad."

"Relax, she's trying very hard to but she can't hear much of anything."

"That's reassuring," Elena deadpanned. She forgot how infuriating Damon could be. She moved across the kitchen standing on the other side of the door and yelled, "Aunt Jenna can you let Jer know that dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

They heard a muffled shit and opened the door, her face a bright shade of red, "Can't blame a girl for trying. I'll be upstairs dying of shame." Elena waited for the sound of the creaky stairs before shutting the door. She froze clutching the door.

"_You are going to have so much fun," Katherine smiled menacingly. _

_Elena blinked, tears stinging her eyes, "What are you going to do with me?"_

"_I would tell you not to worry but," Katherine trailed off. She toyed with the butcher knife twirling it around. "The last member of our party is a little late…"_

"_Why me?" Elena pleaded, desperate for some sort of an answer. She needed an answer, why was it her life that was turned upside down. "What are you going to do with me?"_

_Katherine stood behind her yanking her hair back, "I'm getting sick of your questions." She frowned standing over Elena, _"_I am curious though, what did you do to Damon? So weak, he thought he was talking to you and he just poured his soul out to me. It was all rather pathetic."_

"_What?" she asked, worried. "Damon was here?"_

_Katherine rolled her eyes, "Yes just a little bite ago keep up. All blah blah blah 'you decided I was worth saving'…I love you Elena. Just kidding." She flashed a quick grin at her doppelganger. "That would have been too easy. I thought he was the fun one I guess it would have been romantic had I cared."_

"_I don't believe you. How am I to know you aren't lying to me?" she questioned, slowly inching herself into a sitting position. _

"_Yes, I hope you didn't bang your head too hard or are you always this annoying? I wonder if Stefan knows what's going on between you and Damon," Katherine mused. She interrupted Elena's feeble protests. "I haven't gotten to the best part yet…Damon kissed me and didn't realize he wasn't kissing you. On the plus side he has become a better kisser over the past century too bad he's not the Salvatore I want."_

_Elena stopped dead, "Damon kissed you?"_

"_You're not interested in the fact that I plan on stealing Stefan back?" Katherine studied her nails with a twisted smile. "Interesting."_

_Elena gulped; he could still be near by. She screamed his name as loud as she could. Katherine slapped her, "No cheating!" She looked over her shoulder. "You're late…have trouble finding a place to park your broomstick?"_

_Elena tried to move towards the hallway to see who Katherine was talking to, "Please help me."_

"_Humans…so pathetic," she said with disdain. "I'll see you soon Elena. PS: try not to get killed that would be a bummer."_

Elena gripped on to the door frame, her breathing ragged. She remembered now, Damon kissed her and Katherine schemed all of this. She never got a good look at who Katherine was working with but it had to be a witch. Damon held Elena up before she could collapse. "What the hell? Your heart just plummeted."

"Sorry," she responded weakly. Her clammy hands rested on his hips while she tried to steady herself. The room blurred around her before her vision returned to normal. She removed her hands from his body quickly. "Thanks."

"Your heartbeat is better now," Damon observed, eyeing her suspiciously. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly. She shakily added the romaine lettuce to the salad. "I get dizzy sometimes, its nothing. A side effect from the car accident." She moved to sprinkle vervain in the sauce.

"Hey! I'm standing right here, the least you could do is try to poison me in a stealthier manner," he complained moving towards Elena.

Elena's eyes widened, "Sorry, I didn't even realize. Unlike you I'm not planning on killing you." She scooped two large spoonfuls of the sauce in a bowl and then dumped a healthy but unnoticeable amount of the herb in the pan. "No second helpings for you."

She poured a teaspoon of cinnamon into it and stirred it around. Damon frowned, "How did you know to put cinnamon in the sauce? It's the secret ingredient. Therefore, nobody should know about it."

She smiled sadly, "A good friend of mine taught me how to make it, and I didn't know the difference." She didn't mention that he was the good friend who helped her make it while his brother was going through human blood withdrawal in the basement cellar. She doesn't tell him that for an hour and a half that night she had nothing to worry about except burning the sauce or undercooking the noodles.

Jenna and Jeremy chose that exact moment to enter the kitchen. Jeremy sized up Damon and introduced himself; Elena stifled her laughter as Jeremy squeezed Damon's hand as tightly as he could. Damon and Elena both knew that it didn't hurt Damon at all. Jeremy plopped into one of chairs at the table while Jenna set the table.

"Elena, do you know where the wooden salad spoon is?" Jenna asked rifling through the drawers of the buffet in the adjoining dining room.

She muttered, "Yes Aunt Jenna…I didn't think people actually used a salad spoon so I sharpened one end and made it into a makeshift stake. Quite innovative of me personally." She found Damon staring at her; he nodded approvingly and gave her thumbs up. In retort, she mumbled, "Damn vampire hearing." Damon snickered. Jenna stared at her expectedly waiting for a response, "Uh no but we have tongs we can use."

The first half of dinner went smoothly. Elena explained Damon's separate pasta sauce with him being allergic to an herb she was going to use. It wasn't much of a stretch after all. After a few glasses of wine it was safe to say the entire bottle was gone, Jenna couldn't hold her burning question any longer. She stared at the two of them, "When did you two meet…Elena's only mentioned you once before."

"Really?" Damon asked curiously. Elena had forgotten all about her nightmare where she woke up yelling his name. She avoided his eyes, "It's a long story for another night. Damon is from Mystic Falls and recently moved back here. His younger brother Stefan is starting school here, right?"

Damon cleared his throat, "Yes. We moved back into the Salvatore boarding house. I talked to Stefan _today _he's the type that just can't wait for school to start."

"Those types. I can't say I was one of them. I was more of the girl who came to the first day of school hung-over." Jenna nodded wisely. Elena gave her Aunt Jenna a look. "Yeah I'm definitely getting old, I'm going to get ready for bed. Don't worry about the dishes 'Lena I'll do them in the morning."

Damon slowly clapped from his seat while Elena cleared the dishes, "Dinner was fantastic. None of your family members know about the big, bad vampires or that their darling Elena despite popular belief isn't as fragile as they think."

Elena ignored him, hoping he would get the message that she was done for tonight. He didn't. She exhaled, "Yes I am Elena the Bad Ass Vampire Slayer, sh don't tell anybody… Damon, I'm not really in the mood for our scheduled verbal sparring match. I'm going to cash in one of my several IOUs since you tried to kill me this afternoon and tell you to go."

"You're kicking me out? I guess I can tell when I'm not wanted." Damon clutched his chest in feigned hurt. He sauntered out of the kitchen, calling over his shoulder. "I'll see you later. _'Lena_." He mocked with emphasis as he banged the door shut.

She pulled the covers over her head. A trick she taught herself when she was younger, she always thought that if the monsters couldn't see her they couldn't get her. She slid her hand over her neck; her cool fingers elevated some of the pain that was radiating from where Damon held onto her. Minutes later she drifted off to sleep, the comforter hiding her from the monsters she thought she was keeping away.

_Her footsteps echoed through the dark boarding house. She couldn't sleep again and found comfort in being close to him. The study was illuminated with the glow of the fireplace in the center of the room. She flipped the antique switch and waited for chandelier to turn on. Nothing. Moving closer to the fireplace, she listened closely for some clue as to what was going on. She called his name. She told him to stop playing games with her. _

_Her feet slammed into something on the ground, she cursed as she stepped into something moist. She didn't know it was blood until she fell over the lifeless body. Why couldn't she see anything? It was him, she studied his face not long ago, touching and memorizing each detail. She knew by the slight bump in the middle of his nose and the scar on his jaw from a horrible disease that took his mother from him. The tears didn't stop, they splashed against his face. His face. _

_The figure lounging on the chair next to the fire laughed, "How are you doing Elena? Having fun yet?"_

_She choked, holding onto his icy hand and turned to her, "How could you? He meant something to me."_

"_Why do you always assume this is all about you, Elena?" she inquired. She stood up and tossed another log into the fire place. The fire hissed and burnt brighter. Elena stared at his blood soaked shirt. _

"_What else could it be about? Is this revenge? I took everything you ever wanted, everything you thought you would always have?" she demanded harshly. She couldn't let go of his hand. She would grab the stake she hid under the couch months ago and end her. But she couldn't leave him. "I don't understand."_

"_You are too much fun," she answered. Her cold eyes watched Elena's every movement. "I enjoy ripping your life apart. Taking everything away from you…One by one they will all disappear because of you."_

_She brushed away the tears with her free hand. "I can't let you do this."_

"_Don't you think it's a little late for that?" she grinned manically. She stood above Elena. "Now I'll give you a choice…Who should I torture next? Jeremy? How about that judgy little witch? Or I could give you a two for one deal and get rid of them both at the same time."_

_She let go, screaming, "No! Katherine. Please stop. Katherine."_

The covers were bunched together at the end of the bed. The monsters didn't have trouble finding her. She sat up shakily and reached from them when a strong, cold hand seemed to pull them off of her, while muffling her scream." It's just me," he whispered. Damon. Damon's here, it'll be okay. But it won't, she corrected herself, he's not the same Damon she's come to know and even care for. He watched her as she struggled to find reality. The faint screams of Katherine dying on her lips.

She checked her neck, the necklace still firmly in place. She mumbled incoherently, "She killed…So cold. It was just a nightmare? Everything is back to normal?"

He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know why he was here. Inflecting suffering and causing grief is at the very core of his existence. But something about her pulled at him, like a faint sweet memory at the edges of his mind, almost like recognition, just beyond his grasp, teasing him, she was different. He felt it earlier when he tried to kill her. It was... it was something else. He was intrigued. He caressed her cheek, "Yes. Don't worry everything and everyone is just fine. Jenna is fantasizing about my butt as we speak, and Jeremy is mopping away in bed over the town's junkie too bad I can't compel his terrible taste in music away. Go back to sleep." He tucked her in properly, brushed a stray hair back, and talked nonsense in a soothing, sleep inducing tone, until she fell into deep sleep, knowing that Damon is here to guard her dreams.

The next morning, Elena had a vague recollection of what had happened after her rude awakening from the nightmare. She tried to remember with some clarity but all she could recall was going back to sleep -quite peacefully for the first time in a very long time- and a calming presence. Chalking that up to an active imagination she left a hastily scribbled note for Jenna on the counter of her and Jer's whereabouts before heading out with her brother. He took one look at the car and another at his sister, "Are you sure you can drive?" she hit him on the back of his head and headed for the car.

"Don't worry, I drove just fine yesterday. Now if you don't mock my driving I'll let you drive us on the way back."

Jeremy agreed quickly, he only had his temps and with all that happened to Elena he had little to no time to practice not to mention Aunt Jenna wasn't the best driver to learn from. They stopped at the flower store across the street from the Grill and bought a bouquet of assorted summery flowers. She followed Jeremy to the headstone, knowing full well she could find it blindfolded. She sat down in front of the grave and propped the flowers against the headstone. She spoke softly, "Hi Mom, Hi Dad. I'm finally out of the hospital; I know it's been ages since I've seen you."

"Yeah, she was taking her sweet time waking up from her coma," Jeremy added. Elena scrunched her nose and swatted Jeremy's arm. "Did you see that? She hit me right in front of you guys."

She rolled her eyes, "Sorry…I was aiming for missing the first half of the school year. Pesky comas can never time them right I guess. We are doing okay though don't worry about us."

"Elena made dinner last night. Yeah I know I was shocked too. No, no one was poisoned. Can you believe it? It wasn't half bad either," Jeremy admitted. He avoided Elena's backhand as she moved in to slap him again. They sat together for a little while longer talking back and forth to their parents. She handed the keys to Jeremy and brushed the dirt off her shorts. He gave her a few minutes to say goodbye to their parents and started the car. Somebody was watching her.

_Elena…Do you really think you can escape me?_ _This is fun._

She swung around, her eyes connecting with his. She only blinked for a second and he was gone. Stefan Salvatore was watching her.

* * *

Reviews are the bees knees. That's right. By the way for any of you that would like to pester me everyday to update I have a link in my profile to my Twitter page.


	5. Chapter Five

This is not a mirage...your eyes aren't deceiving you. This is another chapter...nine months later. I am so sorry guys. SO SORRY! To say life has been hectic would be a huge understatement. Not to mention my muse didn't even bother to say goodbye before leaving. Thanks times a million to my wonderful beta who I owe so much to! I borrowed some lines from the pilot and the song is Welcome Home by Radical Face. I don't own The Vampire Diaries unfortunately. Well here ya go. **  
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**Chapter Five**

_All my nightmares escaped my head _

_Bar the door, please don't let them in_

_You were never supposed to leave _

_Now my head's splitting at the seams _

_And I don't know if I can_

Elena paused in front of the mirror before glancing at the clock. Bonnie would be pulling up in less than fifteen minutes. She tugged at the bottom of her shirt, she decided against wearing the same outfit the second time around; it had to be some sort of bad luck. She rubbed concealer under her eyes; she couldn't remember her dreams from the previous night but woke up throughout the night with a feeling of dread. If anything she believed that she was further from getting home than she had been when she first woke up in a hospital bed. She checked to make sure the pocket watch was still secure and tried to open the chest again, still not budging. She noted Jeremy's absence again and reminded herself to ask him about it later.

Jenna poured another cup of coffee for Elena who accepted it gratefully. She peered at her niece over her mug, "Jeremy left about ten minutes ago, are you ready?"

"For everyone to stare and point at me?" Elena asked. She munched on a cinnamon raisin bagel before responding. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Jenna raised her eyebrow, "I'm your aunt and guardian if I didn't worry I wouldn't be doing my job right."

Elena hugged her aunt, "You sounded just like a responsible parent."

She grinned, "Awesome! I mean it sucks but someone has to do it."

"And not anymore," Elena laughed. She swallowed the rest of her coffee before grabbing her purse just as Bonnie pulled up. "I'll see you after school."

Elena stared out the window, a frown marring her face; a dense layer of fog that wasn't there when she woke up blanketed the air. She snapped back to reality only catching the word "witch" coming from Jenna's mouth. Her eyes widened, breathing slowed as she turned to Jenna, "What?"

Jenna held out a brown bag, "You almost forgot your sandwich."

Elena chuckled, sighing in relief, "Right, thanks. Wish me luck."

She slid in the passenger seat, "Thanks for the ride Bon, Jenna doesn't think I should be driving and with this fog?"

"I know, it literally came out of nowhere but didn't you drive the other day?" Bonnie questioned. She turned off of Elena's street heading on the main road that would lead them to Mystic Falls High School.

"Yeah but Jenna would flip if I told her I did, she's still a little freaked out about everything."

"Well that is to be expected, Lena, for a while none of us thought you were going to make it," she gave her friend a sad smile. "It freaked us all out."

Elena changed the subject, not entirely comfortable talking about the coma she didn't really know about. She felt like she was walking on shaky ground, not knowing what she missed or what was real, if any of this was real at all. What Elena was dying to know is if Bonnie's grandmother had told her best friend about her supernatural abilities. "Did you spend more time with your Grandma?"

Her friend froze, "I did."

"Oh? Did something happen?" Elena asked carefully.

Bonnie's smile was vacant, she shakily added, "Our ancestors were from Salem, which isn't all that weird but then she keeps going on about the future and how she needs to prepare me? At this point I'm tuning out her crazy talk but then she tells me she's a witch and that I'm one too?"

That's when it happened again. Bonnie shrieked as the bird flew into the windshield, swerving the car on to the sidewalk. With a wave of déjà vu sweeping over her, she stared at her dark haired friend, "Witch?"

But Bonnie's head was somewhere else all together; she clutched her chest, "Are you okay? That bird…what the hell? Oh god, Elena, I know car accidents…"

She nodded, "Lets just head to school. Slowly."

Five minutes of silence passed, Elena didn't dare broach the topic of witchcraft and Bonnie didn't even want to acknowledge her confession. The fog disappeared as they moved towards the school. The front lawn was buzzing with students, girls checking out each other's outfits, the football players passing a ball. She spotted Jeremy running into the school, Tyler staring at him with his arms crossed. She needed to figure out what Jeremy was up to. She said a quick goodbye to Bonnie and followed him to the front steps.

Stefan stepped in front of her, as she crashed into his chest. "Elena!"

He caught her arm before she could fall over, "Stefan? Sorry I didn't see you there."

"Sorry, you're the only friendly face here and I have to turn in some papers to the office but I don't know where it is," Stefan added awkwardly. Liar. She wanted to call him out for trying to compel her or shake him until somehow he magically knew who she was. She glanced at the front door, "So could you show me where it is? Unless you have somewhere you need to be?"

"No, I mean yes, I can show you where it is. I just needed to talk to someone but it can wait." She smiled at him, she could pretend he was the Stefan she knew for a minute to push away the fear. She led him up the steps, "I don't usually give my number out to strangers but when I do, they usually call."

Stefan shook his head, "I meant to call you but I had family stuff to attend to."

"Oh right, it's just you and Zach living in the boarding house?" Elena was toeing the line and she knew it. People stared at her, whether it was because of Stefan or her being the coma girl who killed her parents but it was most likely a mixture of both.

"Actually my brother is in town, visiting for a while," Stefan admitted reluctantly. She stood in front of the office door, which was right inside the front doors. She held the door open for him. He chuckled, "Well thanks for helping me find the office."

Elena nodded, the staring was overwhelming, "You're welcome. See you around, Stefan." She all but ran over to where Bonnie and Caroline were talking. "Is the school day over yet?"

She noticed Matt standing with them, hands shoved into the pocket of his letterman jacket. "You look better," he told her.

Caroline stared at herself in her compact, applying another layer of lip gloss, "Who's the new guy? And why are all these hotties following you around?"

"I'm gonna go find Tyler…" Matt trailed off uncomfortably.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Care…Is there ever a time when you aren't thinking about boys?"

"Um, when Mr. Tanner is talking? He gives me the creeps so it's hard to think about anything other than the spit flying out of his mouth when he yells," she nodded quickly.

Elena smiled at her friend, "I'm definitely not looking forward to seeing him again." She thought about how mortified she was when he called her out in front of the whole class and Stefan coming to her rescue, revealing what she later learned to be a part of his past. He doesn't deserve to die though. She spotted Jeremy across the hall and moved towards him when Caroline started speaking.

Caroline smiled invitingly to the "new guy" and shook his offered hand, "Caroline Forbes, head cheerleader, student council president, and your very own welcome wagon."

"Stefan Salvatore or the new guy," he grinned, his eyes lingered on her porcelain neck, a detail Elena didn't miss. Bonnie waved nervously and introduced herself to the vampire. Jeremy disappeared down the hall, she missed her chance. She didn't really want to leave her friends alone with him anyway. Not that he's stalking them or anything, she mentally added to herself.

"Salvatore…you know that sounds awfully familiar. Oh! Elena mentioned a Salvatore on the phone the other day, we were hanging out at the-," Caroline tapped her lip deep in thought. Elena's eyes widened and shook her head discreetly from her position next to Stefan.

Bonnie intervened, "Mall and Elena mentioned that someone was moving into the Salvatore boarding house but she didn't say anything about you."

Caroline glared, catching on, "I can see why...She obviously didn't want to share you with us." She wrapped her arm around his, "Don't worry I'll show you to our homeroom."

Bonnie turned to her friend, "What was that?"

Elena glanced at the back of Stefan's head, knowing that there was a chance that he could be listening in, "Besides Caroline not being able to keep her mouth shut?"

"You know that's not what I'm referring to," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You promised me that you would talk about what happened at the mall. Remember when you ditched us to hang out with some guy."

She watched him disappeared into a room at the end of the hall before turning her attention back to Bonnie, "Please. Just I can't talk about it here okay? Tell Caroline to meet me at your car at lunch and I'll explain everything."

"I'm holding you to that Elena Gilbert," Bonnie added sternly. They walked arm in arm to their classes, the déjà vu Elena felt was overwhelming until she reached her 4th period class, History with Mr. Tanner.

Elena slid into the seat in between Bonnie and Caroline braced herself for the worst. She didn't have to turn around to know that Stefan was staring at her. Suddenly she wished that she had taken up on Jenna's offer to stay home an extra day. Mr. Tanner skipped the pleasantries that most teachers started with on the first day and began his lecture on local history.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Mr. Tanner demanded from behind his desk.

"Um...a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot." Bonnie stammered, her dark cheeks burned red.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett..." Tanner responded, rolling his eyes. He turned to the other side of the room. "Mr. Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

"It's ok, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it," he smiled. Elena braced herself, she would never forget what would happen next...At least this predicament allowed her to change history and save face.

The teacher moved to stand in front of Elena's desk, "I wonder if you guys would have the answer to how many brain cells were lost on your summer vacation. Let's try this one more time...Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significantly historical events?"

"Umm you know its on the tip of my tongue, Sorry...Then again I had a hard time studying while I was in a coma," Elena shrugged her shoulders. The class quieted before a few students snickered behind their hands.

Mr. Tanner ignored the students, "Thank you, Elena...I wasn't aware that you were busy over the summer but the personal excuses ended with summer break. Anyone else?"

Elena fought back a smirk before Stefan could ride in and save the day, she spoke up again. "I believe it was 346 casualties...Though you can't forget the local civilians, right?" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see confusion written all over Stefan's face.

He spun on his heels facing Elena again. He frowned and peered around the room as if he expected the answer to be in capital letters on the blackboard, "That's correct...Except there weren't any civilian casualties. Better luck next time."

She arched her brow, "I'm from a founding family...There were 27 civilian casualties at the Battle of Willow Creek."

Stefan cleared his throat, "It's true. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. Miss Gilbert knows her history."

"And you are?" the teacher asked rudely, clearly upset for being undermined by two teenagers in front of his class. Elena's smile faltered, this was when she started to develop feelings for Stefan. Now all she was feeling was boiled down to being constantly on edge waiting for the next shoe to drop or Katherine ripping her throat out.

"Stefan Salvatore."

"Ah another founding family...I'm assuming of course, that you are related to the Salvatores who originated here in Mystic Falls?" Mr. Tanner questioned not at impressed by his family history.

"Yes, sir. The Salvatores are very distant relatives," he replied, emphasizing on the word distant. If only they know that Stefan is from the original Salvatore founding family and that his father killed him for fraternizing with vampires...His father ended up turning him into the one thing he hated. Heads would spin. He smiled disarmingly, "The founder's archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

Tyler whistled from the back of the room as the class erupted in laughter just as the lunch bell rang. Elena hurried out of the classroom before Mr. Tanner could lecture in so many words that being a smart ass in his class wouldn't end well for her. She prayed that Stefan would keep his distance during lunch and headed to Bonnie's car. Caroline and Bonnie appeared minutes later while Elena took the last bite of her sandwich.

"You are officially my hero," Caroline spoke first. Elena motioned for them to get in the car and told Bonnie to put the keys into the ignition. "The look on Tanner's face after you answered the question...that image will get me through the rest of the year."

"How did you know that? I'm guessing you weren't studying the past week." Bonnie grimaced, not as impressed as Caroline. She liked things in black and white, that's why Elena wouldn't be sharing her secrets, not yet. Bonnie was still freaked about her witchy ancestry, God only knows what would happen if Elena dropped the vampire bombshell on her. The idea of telling Caroline filled Elena's brain with scenes of Caroline running and screaming or begging to become the next Bella to some vampire's Edward.

"I did find some of my family's journals," Elena replied vaguely. She scanned the front of the school and the parking lot before turning on the radio, loudly. The two girls looked at each other, puzzled by their friends' behavior. "I don't want to be overheard."

Caroline peered at Elena, "Are you going crazy? I can barely hear you." She moved closer to the other girls.

"Listen, okay? You wanted to know what happened this morning and this is the condensed version," Elena explained slowly. They were inches away from each other, Elena keeping her voice as quiet as possible. "Stefan's older brother is the one we met at the mall a few days ago. I've known Damon for a while but he's not on good terms with his family. Estranged would be putting it mildly. Before I go on I need you guys to promise you won't tell anyone. I mean it."

Bonnie nodded while Caroline mimicked zipping her lips shut, she quipped, "It's going in the super-secret vault!"

Elena laughed nervously, she missed these two. "Stefan is never to find out that I know Damon or that I was introduced to him before seeing Stefan the other day. I'm not really planning on staying friends with either of them. They are dangerous. Something bad happened to them when they were younger and it's just not safe to be around them."

"How dangerous are you talking, 'Lena?" Bonnie asked, concerned.

"Not criminally dangerous," Elena lied, thinking of all the dead bodies and vampire related accidents. She bit her lip, "I need you guys to stay away from them. Please. I can't have anyone else around me risk getting hurt."

Caroline reached over the car seats and hugged the girls, "Don't worry, Elena but could you have picked uglier bad boys to get involved with?"

They dissolved into giggles, reliving some of the tension. "I'll keep that in mind next time, Care" Elena answered dryly. She pulled two bracelets out of her purse, both laced with vervain. "My mom gave me a set of three bracelets on my last birthday and I've been meaning to show you...The braided cords are supposed to be unbreakable like the bonds of best friends." Elena blinked back tears and showed them her wrist before clasping each vervain bracelet onto their arms. "Keep them on always, okay?"

They hugged again, both choking back their own tears. Bonnie shoved Elena playfully, "Way to go, Elena. I thought we were done with the crying stuff for a while now?"

"Would this be a bad time to tell you guys that I invited Stefan to Duke from Duke's party?" Caroline cringed, peeking at Bonnie and Elena from behind her hands.

Elena's eyes grew large, "Shit. Did he say he was going to go?"

The blonde shrugged helplessly, "He didn't say he wasn't going? I don't know! He seemed like he was interested in going especially after I said that you would be going with us."

"I didn't say I was going," she muttered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She was afraid. She was afraid for herself, for her family, and for friends.

Bonnie snorted as Caroline whined, "Elena! You have to. Must I remind you that you were in a coma all summer and you missed so many parties, you need to get out and have some fun."

"I don't know if Jenna will go for it, she didn't even want me to drive to school today," Elena told them, lowering her voice. "Weren't some of those animals attacks in the woods near where the party is supposed to be?"

Caroline dismissed her, "That was in the south woods...We'll be fine and with a whole bunch of people. Just try to not to stumble over any dead bodies or wander around the woods by yourself."

She froze, mouth wide open when she remembered. Vicki. Damon almost drains her dry tonight. She set her mouth in a straight line and turned to her friends, her mind made up. "I'll be there just don't mention the party anymore to Stefan."

No amount of music could block out the sounds of Caroline's squeal of delight. The rest of lunch was spent at a picnic table in the courtyard listening to Caroline's endless chatter about who would be at the party and what the three of them would be wearing. She mustered up a bright smile for her afternoon classes, ignoring the whispers surrounding her accident.

It took all of five minutes and her puppy eyes to convince Jenna to let her attend the party. She skillfully dodged the awkward conversation about her first day back and managed to Jenna to talk about her thesis instead. The next few hours were full of plans to save Vicki or how she desperately wished she had an ally in all of this. She tried to forget that she was putting herself in danger and looked at it as saving Jeremy's stoner girlfriend and Matt's older sister. She wouldn't allow another vampire to ruin her family and friend's lives. She had a chance to change the fate of this town.

After triple checking her necklace for vervain and stashing a stake in her purse, she feebly convinced herself that she could do this. Those thoughts didn't stop her finger from lingering over Damon's name in her contact. Even though she knew she shouldn't trust them, either of the brothers, but she felt a strange allegiance to Damon. She knew what she was getting with this side of Damon, she remembered it all too well but she never dealt with this Stefan. This Stefan wouldn't hesitate in manipulating her. This Damon wouldn't listen to her not that he normally listened to her anyway. With a quick goodbye to her guardian, Elena was on her way to the door. "Stefan."

The vampire stood at the door, poised to knock, "Elena. Hey."

She stared, appearing confused, "What are you doing here?"

"I swear I'm not following you," he held up his hands in mock surrender, he flashed her a quick grin that once made her heart skip a beat. Now she was just weary. "I got your address from this girl named Dana in our history class and Caroline mentioned that you might be going to the party..."

She nodded, toeing the barrier that prevent Stefan from getting any closer. "Yeah. Caroline likes to talk a lot."

Stefan chuckled, "I know. I could barely keep up with her. So do you need a ride?"

Elena's phone buzzed in her hand, a new text from Bonnie..._flat tire relying on C for a ride, still going?_ Just great. She typed a quick reply, telling her that she would meet her at the party. "Well my ride can't make it but I should really just drive myself, I don't know if I'll stay too long."

"Let me drive you. I promise we can leave whenever you want. Not to mention the directions Caroline gave me after school are a bit confusing, you wouldn't want the new kid to get lost," he pleaded. Before Elena could argue further she was sitting in the passenger seat of Stefan's car. The awkward silence only lasted a minute until Stefan turned on the radio. "I heard about the accident. I'm sorry."

"Small towns, huh." she frowned, motioning him to take a left at the dead end. At least he was heading in the direction of the party and not some obscure spot in the middle of nowhere where he would suck her dry. "But thank you, I keep thinking they are going to walk through the door any minute or sitting at the table when drinking coffee when I wake up." As much as she had come to terms with her parent's death, doing this all again made her realize how much she missed her parents. Would she have gotten mixed up with vampires if her parents were still alive? Would they have told her about vampires...

"I know what you mean...I lost my parents a while back. It does get easier," he smiled sadly. A glimpse of the Stefan she knew. She wished she could hold on to that, that he could be that Stefan. "The party is by the falls right?"

"Uh yeah, the parking should be up past those trees," she told him. Relieved that their destination was in sight and that she arrived in one piece. She stepped out of the car, turning to Stefan, "I need to go talk to Bonnie, see you in a few minutes?"

She barely heard his response when she spotted Bonnie by the bonfire. The witch grimaced, "Did you come here with Stefan? Didn't you say-."

"He showed up my house and then you texted me, I had no choice," she explained quietly. Her friend patted her on the shoulder and handed her a cup of punch.

"You probably need this more than the rest of us," she nodded to the cup. Her friend made no move to drink. "Don't worry. I'm enacting the buddy system, Caroline and I will stay with you the entire night."

Elena laughed, glancing at the blonde who was clearly enjoying the party, "Somehow I don't think Caroline will be much help."

"She was a mess this summer," Bonnie confided. "She took it really hard, you know. She said you guys had gotten in a fight at the party the night of the accident."

Elena furrowed her brow, "Honestly, I had forgotten all about that. I do need to give Caroline more credit, she's a little crazy but she's always there when you need her. Both of you are."

"Don't make me cry! If you weren't aware, we are in the middle of a kick ass party," Bonnie hugged her and then lightly hit her shoulder.

"I'm going to go talk to Jeremy real quick, just keep me in your line of sight," Elena jogged over to where her brother was nursing a beer. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."

Jeremy scoffed, "Half of the school is here. What else would I be doing?"

"Never mind, so what are you drinking there, little brother?" she asked, using her older sister voice.

He took a long swig of his drink, "I could ask you the same. Aren't you on pain meds?"

She tossed out the drink, "Bonnie gave it to me to calm down but I'm not really in the mood to drink nor should I be. You went to school early this morning."

"Is that a crime?" he threw back; he dropped the empty bottle in a nearby trashcan. He noted his sister's hurt expression. "Sorry 'Lena, it's been a long day. Can we talk later?"

She didn't get a chance to reply before her brother headed into the woods. Bonnie was talking to Matt and Caroline, she wouldn't notice if Elena disappeared. She yelled her brother's name as she walked deeper into the woods almost forgetting about Vicki. She clutched the stake in her purse. She tripped over a tree root; her body ached as she pushed herself back up. Even all the prepping couldn't stop Elena from screaming at the sight of the vampire bent over Vicki's throat, fangs inches from her neck.

* * *

Let me know what you guys think! Oh and if you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm hannahrodgers just look me up! You can bug me all the time about an update if you want to. Thanks for reading.


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